“Why are teenage guys so clueless?”
Justin had a grin on his face that made his eyes nearly disappear. “Probably because most of our blood flow’s diverted to places other than our brains when we’re teenagers.”
She raised her eyebrows in disbelief. “Just teenagers? I know a few guys in their thirties who still act like that. I can’t believe you were ever that clueless.”
“I like to think I wasn’t, but I had my moments.” He shook his head, sandy brown hair falling into his eyes before he brushed it back. “Mostly, I was too busy with hockey to mess around like that. I knew if I got hurt, it could put me on the bench for weeks and that would be hell.”
“You’re really dedicated, aren’t you? To hockey, I mean.”
“It’s the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do and I’m good at it. Good enough to play professionally. I mean, I’m always looking for ways to improve my game.”
“And that’s what’s going to get you where you want to be. Your willingness to put in the work.”
“I can’t imagine you’re not willing to put in the work. That’s all you seem to do.”
“Gotta pay the bills somehow.”
“No.” He shook his head decisively. “That’s not you.”
“How do you know that?” She couldn’t help her smile.
“Because that’s not the woman I’m getting to know.”
Man, this guy was a total charmer. And totally sincere. She’d never met anyone like him.
“Maybe you just don’t know me well enough.”
“Nah. I’m a pretty good judge of character.”
“Well, I definitely can’t say that.”
His lips curved in that smile again, the one that made her panties melt. The one she’d only ever seen him give her.
“Sure you can. You invited me in.”
Her own smile was a slow burn.
“Okay, I’ll give you that one.”
“Yeah? What else are you going to give me?”
Suddenly, the pit in her stomach opened wider as heat spread all through her body. And now it was hard to breathe.
“What do you want?”
He didn’t answer right away, just continued to stare into her eyes. Normally, that would make her uncomfortable. Nothing about this man made her uncomfortable. At least, not unpleasantly uncomfortable.
Yes, she knew that didn’t make a lot of sense. Right now, she didn’t care.
“Can I kiss you?”
Now the heat spread through her like a forest fire.
“Absolutely.”
And the kitchen timer went off.
His grin spread. “I guess we’ll put a hold on that.”
“Don’t worry. I’m not going to forget.”
*****
“You don’t have to help. Just sit. You must be exhausted.”
“Carrying dishes to the sink won’t wear me out. You do know I’m a big tough hockey player, right?”
“Well, that’s good because I have plans for you.”
He didn’t answer right away as he set their dinner plates in the sink, and she looked up. To find him looking down at her.
“Oh yeah? What kind of plans?”
“The kind that don’t require a lot of talking.”
He grinned outright. “I like talking to you.”
“I’m glad. But I’d really like to kiss you again.”
That grin still on his lips, he took her hand and pulled her along with him as he headed toward the living room.
He sat her down beside him on the couch and she thought he’d finally kiss her.
“Thanks for making me dinner. You’re a great cook.”
If the man was planning to charm her panties off her, he was doing a damn good job of it.
Then again, he hadn’t made a move except to kiss her.
Justin wasn’t like any other guy she’d ever dated. She was used to guys trying to get into her pants seconds after they walked her to the door after a date. Hell, sometimes they didn’t even wait to get to the door.
And she didn’t think it was because he didn’t want to get into her pants. The way he looked at her…
“Thanks but I’m not really that good. You work in enough kitchens, you pick up a few tricks.”
“Yeah, well, I’m really not a good cook but I have to eat or I can’t make my body perform like I want it to. But I can’t live on hamburgers and pasta and eggs all the…time.”
She couldn’t help herself. When he mentioned his body, her gaze dropped to his chest.
She’d already checked out his body but she didn’t have a problem looking at him. Far from it.
He was really-really-really not hard to look at.
“Viv?”
She swallowed hard and looked up into his eyes, the most beautiful shade of brown she’d ever seen. She hadn’t noticed how unusual they were until she was this close and staring straight into them. They were mesmerizing.
“Yeah?”
“I thought we were going to be kissing.”
His grin made her panties even more damp.
“Trust me, I want to.”
“Then why aren’t we?”
“Haven’t you heard that anticipation is foreplay?”
Her own lips curved in a smile. “So this is foreplay?”
“Your smile could be considered foreplay. You look at me like that and I burn for you.”
And now she couldn’t breathe. Holy hell, who was this guy? He looked at her and she got hot. He smiled and she went up in flames. And he told her that anticipation was foreplay and she was ready to climb all over him, strip him naked, and ride him right here on the couch.
She hadn’t heard from Aly yet so she had no idea if her sister was coming home tonight or staying with Riley. At the moment, she wouldn’t care if her sister walked through the front door and caught them in the middle of sex, as long as she didn’t want to sit down and have a conversation with them.
“Justin—”
He leaned down and kissed her.
And this time, there definitely was tongue.
But of course Justin didn’t just stick his tongue down her throat. He would never be that…rushed.
No, his tongue flicked at her lips, caressing the sensitive skin and causing her to make needy little noises as her hands reached to curve around his neck, trying to bring him even closer.
A second later, she found herself being lifted over his lap. Her legs parted so her knees settled on either side of his thighs. Now her arms wrapped around his shoulders, bringing him even closer.
In this position, she could rise up on her knees and be in more control. Because the damn man was going much too slow.
She opened her mouth over his and let her tongue slide between his lips. The sound he made was closer to a growl than a groan and every muscle in her body tensed in anticipation.
Of what? She wasn’t sure. She only knew she wanted to hear that sound again. Because when he made it, his mouth pressed even harder against hers and his hands on her hips pulled her even closer.
Yes.
Victory rioted through her like adrenaline. She’d finally gotten him to respond in a way she knew how to handle.
She understood lust. Understood how to handle a man who lusted after her. She had much more trouble knowing how to handle a man who teased and talked to her about anticipation.
But her victory didn’t last long.
Justin kissed her with a thoroughness that blew all her brain circuits. Moving his hands to her face, he tilted her head just enough to deepen the kiss. And then he kissed her like he could do it for days. He kissed her so completely, she felt her heart trip into a deeper rhythm. Like he’d flicked a switch she didn’t know she had, triggering some deep-seated need inside her to let him take over.
She’d never felt this way before. Not with any other man she’d ever been with. And it wasn’t like he acted like a caveman. He wasn’t a dominant asshole who treated her like she was a toy. Or a possession.
She’d dated a few of those. One date only.
No, this had something to do with the way she responded to Justin. And only Justin.
Maneuvering closer, she sank her fingers into his hair and tugged his head back, leaning over him more fully.
He let her take the more dominant position but he continued to kiss her in that slow, steady way that made her want to melt. And eventually, it made her slow down as well.
She matched her kisses to his. Long. Slow. Deep. Her tongue tangled with his but it wasn’t a furious duel. It was more like a dance.
His hair felt like silk and she found herself rubbing it between her fingers like she would cloth. She wanted to have him rub it against her skin, her belly, her thighs.
Okay, she wanted to feel it against her skin while he went down on her and put his mouth between her legs. Just the thought made her shiver.
She crept a little closer and let her hands drop to his shoulders, smoothing across the broad plane of them then down to that hard-muscled chest.
Damn, she really wanted to get this man naked.
But he’d drugged her into this state between hypersensitivity and an almost zen-like satisfaction.
She’d never had these competing sensations while making out with someone.
She wanted more.
But Justin seemed in no hurry. At least not to do anything other than kiss. And she had to admit she was kind of surprised by how well he did it. That seemingly shy, quiet exterior belied the experience in his kiss.
Then again, he’d had a girlfriend for the past six years. Obviously, they’d done a lot of kissing. He must have refined his technique over that time.
Now she was benefiting from that. Her gain. His former girlfriend’s loss.
She didn’t know how long they kissed like this but suddenly she realized his hands had shifted lower. Where before they’d been on her back, now they were closer to her hips, almost to her butt.
Her breath caught in chest as she realized he was petting her, stroking his palms up and down. Every time he went down, he got a little closer to her ass.
God, she wanted him to stroke her. Smack her, not hard enough to hurt, just enough to sting. Anticipation built again, this time impossible to ignore.
Pulling her lips away from his, she panted a little as she leaned her forehead against his.
“Are you ever going to touch me?”
She felt rather than saw his smile as he ran his hands up her back again, making her stifle a groan.
“I thought I was.”
“You know what I mean. I want you to put your hands on my skin.”
His hands swept back down. “You mean like this?”
He slipped his fingers beneath the hem of her shirt, barely grazing the skin of her lower back.
She arched at the shivery sensation that shot through her, just from that slight touch.
“Two can play this game, you know.”
“I didn’t know we were playing a game.”
Her eyes opened to stare into his, because she’d heard something in his voice. He sounded…concerned. His expression definitely had a more serious edge to it, as well.
She couldn’t resist the urge to tease him. A little payback for driving her crazy.
“Oh, this is a very serious game.” She bit back a smile as his gaze narrowed. “And you should know I’m a master at it.”
His expression lightened a little. “Oh yeah? What’s this game called?”
“Payback.”
Now his eyebrows rose. “What’d I do?”
“You’re driving me crazy.”
There was that grin again. Now his fingers began to sweep up her back, sending more of that delicious sensation through her body.
“In a good way, I hope.”
“I never expected you to be a tease, Mr. Perry.”
“What were you expecting?”
She let her hands slide from his shoulders to his chest, where she rubbed her fingertips over his pecs, smiling when she felt the stiffness of his nipples. Pinching them between her fingers, she felt his chest expand on a huge breath.
“You have to watch out for the quiet ones.”
“What are you watching for?”
“You may look innocent on the outside but you’ve got a wild streak hidden under all that boyish charm.”
His smile gained a wicked edge. “You think I’m charming, huh?”
“I do. And dangerous.”
“Why dangerous?”
“Because you make me want…”
His smile disappeared as his eyes narrowed. “What?”
“Whatever you want to give me.”
He didn’t say anything else for a few seconds and she wasn’t exactly sure what he was thinking. And when he did speak, her insides melted.
“I’ll give you whatever you want.”
It took her a second to think of the right thing to say, mainly because her brain wasn’t working. And when she did think of something, she wasn’t sure it was the right thing to say. But she said it anyway.
“I just might want everything.”
His chest rose and fell at an ever-increasing pace. “I might be willing to give it to you.”
She’d never had a man say he’d give her everything before. It took away her breath. It took several seconds to regain it before she could answer.
“Then shut up and kiss me.”
He sealed their mouths together and this time, his kiss wasn’t so innocent. In fact, it was downright dirty.
His tongue slid between her lips and teased hers until they tangled. The brush of his tongue against hers stole the breath from her lungs and left her gasping.
And then his hands flattened on her back beneath her shirt. The man had huge hands, rough and warm and, oh my god, she wanted him to put them all over her body.
She’d been lulled into thinking maybe he was shy. Now he blew that idea out of the water.
His hands slid from her back around to her sides, a hard caress, until he reached the barrier of her bra. She thought maybe he wouldn’t go for more, wouldn’t press further.
She would’ve been wrong.
While he kept her mouth busy with a kiss that made her brain spin, he went for the back snap on her bra. And realized there was none.
Pulling away, she smiled at him. “Snaps in the front.”
“Gotta make things interesting, don’t you?”
“I try.”
He rubbed his nose against hers in possibly the sweetest way any guy had ever shown her affection. Her eyes widened and her lips parted and then he put his hands on the bottom of her shirt and arched his eyebrows, asking a question.
She nodded, still a little flustered by him, and he lifted her shirt over her head. Her nipples tightened into tight peaks as a shiver swept through her. But she wasn’t cold. Not at all.
His gaze held hers for several long seconds, deepening the connection between them before he looked down.
“I like this. It’s pretty.” His eyes flicked up to hers for a few seconds. “Like you.”
The man continued to smash every single conception she’d had of him as shy and maybe a little awkward with women. At this moment, he knew exactly what to do to make her want to collapse into a pile of female goo.
She didn’t know what to say in return. Turns out she didn’t have to say anything.
He slid his fingers beneath her bra straps and tugged them down her arms, slowly enough to be considered teasing but fast enough to take away what little breath she had left.
When the straps hung down to her elbows, she thought he’d unsnap the latch holding it together. Instead, he ran his palms back up her arms to her shoulders and around her neck. Then he drew her back down for another one of those amazing kisses that made her wish for magical powers to make their clothes disappear.
Her hands gripped his shoulders, felt the flex of the muscles beneath as he took her mouth with a thoroughness that left her light-headed. And sent heat pulsing through her bod
y.
That heat settled low in her body, between her legs where her underwear were already wet and clinging. Shifting closer, she spread her legs a little wider and sank lower.
She sank down until she felt the ridge of his erection press against her aching pussy and her eyelids fluttered shut.
His groan made her grin. She loved knowing she’d gotten to him, thought maybe now she’d get a bit of an upper hand.
Instead, he renewed his seduction by tilting her head to the side and deepening their kiss.
His tongue tormented until she found herself grinding against his erection. She had no idea how long she’d been moving against him but she didn’t want to stop now. The friction was pushing her closer and closer to an orgasm—
Justin grabbed her hips and held her away, still tantalizingly close but not close enough.
With a little gasp, she pulled back. “Hey.”
He was breathing hard and the look in his eyes burned.
“When you come, I want it to be because I made you.”
Her lips parted in shock at the blatant dominance in his statement. She couldn’t believe those words had come out of his mouth. They seemed so out of character and yet…
That mouth had been kissing her into a state of bliss for the past however long so she obviously needed to revise her opinion of him.
This man was not shy. He wasn’t inexperienced. And he definitely knew exactly how to kiss. And how to seduce a woman because she was ready to strip herself naked and let him have her however he wanted.
Finally, she swallowed hard and nodded. “Then do it.”
His gaze burned even hotter, if that was possible, and when he moved back in to cover her mouth with his, she closed her eyes and gave up all control.
She’d never allowed herself to do that with any other man. Not even with Jamie, whom she thought she’d loved and had loved her back.
She’d been so wrong about him.
She didn’t think she was wrong about Justin.
Before she slipped away from this pleasurable haze, she shut down that line of thought. Not going to go there. Not while his mouth took hers with an increased demand. A demand to let him give her what she needed.
His hands began to move again, from her hips to her waist and finally to her ribs, where he brushed the underside of her breasts with his thumbs. He stroked her so lightly she could barely feel it but knowing he was made the sensation much more intense.
The D-Man: Redtails Hockey 6 Page 10